New Orleans History

If good things come in small packages, great things arrive in big, rusty, muddy pipes.

Calvin Dayes came to the United States in 1949 as a Jamaican-born stowaway with $38 in his pocket. But, a long career as one of New Orleans’ most-respected cobblers put him at the center of local life.

In 1928, Audubon Park in New Orleans opened a public pool so massive it was called the largest in the South and the second-largest in the country.

Does your teenager frequent libraries, binge-watch documentaries and constantly have their nose in a history book? If so, you have a problem: They could be a history nerd!

The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Portage Bike Roll returned this month as part of the exhibition “Art of the City: Postmodern to Post-Katrina,” presented by The Helis Foundation.

Second lines and brass bands are among our city’s musical staples, but did you know that a traditional jazz funeral consists of two parts?

If you grew up in Louisiana, chances are you knew someone named Sue Ellen, Sarah Jane or Mary Margaret. Double names are very common in the South, but have you ever wondered how they came to be?

After the end of the Civil War, formerly enslaved people began seeking out family members separated by the slave trade.

The Crescent City and pecans have long been linked. The sweet, creamy, French confection known as a praline first gained American fame in New Orleans, when almonds were substituted for native Louisiana pecans. Soon the praline became a Southern hallmark treat.

The St. Charles Avenue streetcar line has operated in New Orleans since 1835, making it the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world. Since 1923, the arch-roofed, steel-bodied and iconic green Perley Thomas streetcars have operated on the line’s tracks.

Chances are if you live in New Orleans, you’ve spent time in Lakeview, an area named for its proximity to Lake Pontchartrain. Officially, Lakeview’s boundaries are defined as Lakeshore Drive, Orleans Avenue, City Park Avenue and the Jefferson Parish line.

You can still visit America’s first monument to WWI soldiers here in New Orleans.

Every year on All Saints’ Day, New Orleanians head to cemeteries to beautify the graves of the departed. Early Americans took this a step further by holding on to actual pieces of loved ones: their hair.

Here’s a challenge for you: Can you guess the current names of these streets?

Starting today, The Historic New Orleans Collection will resurrect the Halloween-themed tour of its Louisiana History Galleries. “Danse Macabre: The Nightmare of History” draws from grisly topics like colonial-era executions, cemetery relocation, serial killers and more to unveil some of the more frightful, but true, aspects of local lore.

Inspired by this weekend’s celebration of all things fried and made from chicken, we’re looking back at a bizarre feat of chicken consumption and a beloved restaurant.